mercer transportation

i had some issues with my truck that took.some time to get straightened out. actually it took.some time to figure out how to pay for getting them straightened out. and i had some 2290 problems and i had to go to twic office and get that done. i also knew right off the bat i had to do the securement class on wednesday. add that to this being four times the normal size orientation class and it just took a bit longer. i was the second to last person to get signed on, the other guy still isnt signed on but he has serious truck issues

 

if i am still here.monday afternoon i may be hanging from a rope in the drivers lounge

 

thursday while i was still running around trying to finish up my inspection and everthing all the guys from class were turning down tx load offers. by the time i got on the board the was just a few short, cheap runs left that everyone else had turned down. friday morning first thing i got a load offer to go to dallas for $2k area and i thought hell, its first lpad of the day, no need to jump. it was 46k lbs and had to be tarped 6'tall so i passed. it was the last load i was offered friday. i saw two other good loads i wanted pop up on the board but they were snapped up by the guys ahead of me in under a minute. but at least now i am number one on the board so everything gets passed by me first now

 

Man that sucks. I think we have all made those mistakes....

Then kicked our own butt all weekend long.

Maybe you will get a high dollar, NO TARP load come Monday.

You will be Well rested and ready to Roll....

 

i hope so. today was my wedding anaversary which is why i needed to get home. such is a truckers life

 

Yeah you will find out no matter where you are have until about 10:00 am on a friday to grab a load or your chances of sitting go way up. If i don't have my friday load on thursday I tend to get nervous..

 

wish someone would have shared that bit of knowledge thursday.lol

 

Spend some time while your sitting there this weekend visting with other drivers and ask lot of questions especially about loads. You'll find different tricks that help.
Though you probably don't want to hear, that on Monday, until close to noon, most loads are the left over from Friday. I usually figure if I don't get Monday set up on Friday, It'll be Monday afternoon before getting going. But at least you are there at Mercertown which has a few conveinces. Most of us make the weekend mistake out somewhere in the middle of nowwhere.
When you can book your loads in advance the harder you can run. And once your coordinator sees how hard you will run, they will book several loads in advance. Usually only 3 in advance for me. I've heard some guys go for two weeks in advance. The driver load board rarely shows loads more than 4 days in advance but the coodinators get them further out.

So where is home that your needing to get to?

 

what happened to you wideload is a common thing. it happens there every week. if it doesnt happen in louisville, it happens the first or second friday out after orientation. you think something else will show up on friday that a little better, you then quickly learn the deal.

one thing you got caught in a bad situation with a 26 person class when normally its 5 to 6 or so. then with no getting it all done til thursday , you were up against the wall.

honestly, several of us could have told you to take that load to tx and you probably still wouldnt have. i know this sounds crazy, but it will be a good thing to learn this right out of the gate.

you need to come up with a rate that you can pull for at a minimum and feel good about and turn the profit you want and doesnt end up in a dead area. when you find that , especially friday , take the load. deliver monday and continue on.

if you want to run the weekend start looking for that load by wednesday at least, and when booking loads ahead, find one you can live with, book it and travel on.

know what you need to make it, it will take a bit to learn the in's and outs of this system. it will take a bit to learn the good and bad ares, although you do have a very good idea, but you will learn mercers good and bad areas.

i think also you didnt have access to the loadboard until friday at noon, if they had set you up wednesday , you could have seen the loadboard and more than likely would have taken that load to texas when offered.

in fact, i am going to call monday and let them know that as soon as a guy is assigned a truck number they should set him with loadboard access.

the deal was on friday , there were a good many loads that were flat only, and the ones for flat or drop went to north dakota .

you have now had all your vaccinations, are screwed, blued and tattoed, go get em monday . and remember you got my number, just call

 

we signed a paper with our email addresses in class to have the load boar info emailed to us. what they didnt mention is if you wait for that it could take a week and if you want it right away just go to the receptionist and she sets you up right away. i didnt know that untill friday when i saw another guy on the load board from class and i.asked how he got the password. then i went and got it, yes it was mid day by then.